Scarlets stung by artificial surface at Scotstoun

Scarlets’ preparations for Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 final against Leinster continue to be affected by the physical toll exacted on Wayne Pivac’s side by their semi-final win over Glasgow Warriors.

The defending champions repeated their feat of 2016-17 when they beat Leinster at the RDS to become the first team to win an away semi-final, storming past Glasgow 28-13 at Scotstoun last Friday.

Yet the West Wales region must now plan to face Champions Cup winners Leinster at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening without Scotland captain John Barclay, who suffered a ruptured Achilles in the opening half, while the 4G artificial surface at Scotstoun left a number of otherwise fit players with cuts, friction burns and blisters, forcing head coach Pivac to abandon hopes of training on Monday.

The cancellation of training effectively negates the extra day’s rest Scarlets might have enjoyed over their final opponents having played their semi a day before Leinster saw off Munster at the RDS last Saturday afternoon while Pivac also admitted the loss of back rower Barclay was a big blow in terms of a loss of leadership and breakdown effectiveness.

Barclay has undergone surgery, the injury sidelining him for the first six months at his new club Edinburgh, whom he is to join this summer.

“He’s been fantastic for us over a number of years,” Pivac said yesterday.

“He’s a great leader. He led the side in the semi-final and final last year in the absence of Ken Owens, and did a great job. He’s a well-respected member of the group and he adds a lot — not just in his ability at the breakdown and the work that he does in defence and the communication that he brings on the field, but he is also very good with the referee. That goes a long way in the big games so he will be missed.

“Obviously it means a bit of a reshuffle. We had to do that earlier in the semi-final so probably the bonus is that it happened early in the game, so the team that continued on had a bit of game-time together.”

Following Monday’s abandoned training session, Pivac only had a limited number of players available yesterday as he continued to count the cost of reaching a second successive final.

“It was not a nice pitch to play on,” McNicholl said of the Glasgow surface.

“I’ve got a dozen blisters and cuts all over me. It has been difficult to sleep with the sheets sticking to me. I remember going down on the ball and I got a massive burn on my backside, a bit like a carpet burn.

"I told the trainer at the time these pitches should be illegal — they are high risk for injury. We haven’t been able to train because of the burns.

"That surface can be good in terms of footwork, but as soon as you hit the deck it can hurt your joints. I prefer not to play on them.”

Pivac added: “We weren’t able to train (on Monday) because of all the blisters and bad burns we picked up in the semi-final in Glasgow.

“We haven’t done any rugby work on the field because of the burns and there will be a lot who won’t train again today (Tuesday).

“I’m not sure how other teams have found that pitch, but we have had a lot of bad burns, grazing, and blisters. We’ve got a very good medical team and I’m sure the boys will heal up for the final, but it is frustrating we haven’t been able to train.

“We’ve got to play on these pitches, and you’ve just got to accept it, but I am not a fan of them.”

Pivac is hoping full-back Leigh Halfpenny will come through a fitness test on his hamstring tomorrow to put him in the running for a return against Leinster.

Meanwhile Glasgow Warriors are “entirely happy” with their pitch at Scotstoun. A spokesperson said it “was only installed in 2016 and is fully compliant with World Rugby’s performance specification”.